Bengaluru’s parking overhaul: Who pays, where you can park and who enforces it | Explained
The Karnataka government has introduced draft parking rules for Bengaluru aimed at formalizing paid parking and monetizing residential areas. The proposal has faced criticism from citizens concerned about the high costs of residential parking permits.
Why it matters
This policy shift represents a significant attempt to manage urban congestion and infrastructure funding in one of India's fastest-growing cities.
On August 11, the Karnataka government issued a draft notification of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (Parking) Rules, 2026, seeking a major overhaul of paid parking in the city, a system that the new corporations have struggled to implement. The rules have been drafted five years after the Karnataka government notified the Directorate of Urban Land Transport’s (DULT) Bengaluru parking policy.
The new rules envision a structured way of implementing paid parking through the identification and expansion of parking spaces across the city, while also seeking to monetise free spaces and residential stretches for paid parking.
While several aspects have been welcomed by citizens, it is the pricing and residential parking provisions that have drawn flak. The permits that citizens have to obtain for parking in residential lanes have especially drawn substantial criticism, as citizens may have to pay up to ₹25,000 to park their cars on smaller stretches.
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